Two Ravens walked into The Swamp...

I'm a huge fan of collaborations. Working with people tends to bring the best out of you. I've found it to be true in music, in writing and it is very visible audible clear that it is especially true in the beer world.

It is almost for this reason alone that I wish I lived in the US. Dogfish Head - one of the absolute titans of the renaissance in the craft brewing scene - recently did a series where they worked with musicians. While watching Brewing TV, I found out they did a beer with Dan the Automator which had chilies, Fuji apples and cilantro in it. If that ain't wack, I don't know what is. But I do know it was a 9% ABV IPA called Positive Contact.

There have been plenty of collaborations in the Kiwi craft beer scene as well, but arguably the most regular would be the Motueka/Yakima duos brewed by Yeastie Boys and Liberty Brewing respectively. Two beers, exactly the same, but one with NZ hops and the other with US hops.

After a couple years of doing IPAs, this year's edition sees the Ravens - two black IPAs. So, naturally, I had to get both and try them out.

I started with Yeastie Boys' Motueka Raven, mainly because I had a tot of Aberlour beforehand. Knowing Stu's fondness of whisky - if only going off Rex Attitude - just seemed right.

L-R: 1) Bottle and beer. 2) The blurb.

Correct me- someone - if I'm wrong, but I think I can pick out cascade hops. It may have to do with trying to snort the things when Stu and I did the media-brewer pro-am brew, but I'm sure I can find them in there. I also get a very dusty aroma, like the nasal texture (is that even a thing?!?!) Renasisance Craftsman had in 2011. There is also some coffee on the nose. If I had to pick it, I would say a filter coffee like a Chemex brew; sweet, but with enough bite to keep things dry, but in a sourish kind of way. There was also a bit of mint in there, but only enough to keep things zingy.

I picked up pineapple and what I think is mandarin when actually drinking it (because that is what you do with beer after all). Maybe more a mandarin version of those British chocolate oranges; like Jaffas, but slightly more exotic. It all finished up with a nice bittersweet chocolate finish, and seemed to get fresherthe longer it was in the glass. A nice hit of umami as well, along with some grass. I know what grass tastes like after being a football goalkeeper. I pretty much ate a few mouthfuls every Saturday, playing two games a day at Donnelly Park in Levin.

Things just got weird.... more beer!!!

L-R: 1) Bottle and beer. 2) The blurb.

The Yakima is instantly different. For a start, it pours with a bigger head. Then on the nose - my goodness Joseph, those hops! While the Motueka is pretty relaxed, this throws up those citrus notes US hops are so loved for, which helps to bring the chocolate to the front. Now this smells like Jaffas! It reminds me a lot of Yeastie Boys' Pot Kettle Black, but bigger.

Same kind of mouthfeel (must come from the identical malt/yeast/water profile/etc), but a much fuller hop flavour. Far more refined as well. While the Motueka had a more "across the net" division of malts and hops, the Yakima seems to fade the malt into the hops more. It's like the difference between tennis (stay on your side of the net fool!) and football (we can get together wherever we want to on this field). I've heard before that this is a common difference between NZ and US hops - am I right? Feel free to tell me I'm full of crap.

All in all, two very awesome beers. If I had to pick a winner, it would be the Yakima. While both beers are awesome, the US hops just seem to fit better.

I'm a bit gutted I didn't think ahead and blend the two at the end. But maybe that's what 3 of 3 is for - am I right?